LETTERS

July 7, 20067:58 AM CDT

He’s no George Bush!

Re: “An Inconvenient Truth” (PWW 6/10-16). In a dark auditorium with remote in hand, open collar and pudgy-faced, Al Gore explains that the sun’s heat gets trapped in the earth’s atmosphere, which creates an excess of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse effect. He uses pictures and charts. What is startling is that the changes in the last 20 years are more than the changes over the past 5,000.

The sky is falling! The earth is coming to an end! Katrina will seem like a drizzle. A pretty startling picture shows the snows of Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya disappearing. The scene is true for Patagonia, the last tip of South America. And as Greenland melts, the water’s gotta go somewhere — why not New York?

But most startling to see is a sea that’s now sand in the Middle East, and a giant ship, never moved, sitting in that sand.

Gore argues in a friendly and folksy way that the lack of political will is the only thing that’s in the way of solving this. And without naming Bush, everybody in the audience on screen gets it right away, just as does everyone who’s in the movie.

One reason the movie is so powerful is that in its first 14 days, more people have seen Gore’s presentation than in the 10 years that he has been making it.

Because Gore’s bio is included, it begs the question of whether the politics of the film will be used by him to kick off and run for president in 2008. A Gore and Obama ticket?

And no matter how unfairly Hillary Clinton seems to be treated, some say she just can’t win. Would Gore be a green and blue candidate that can?

If you live in a cold climate, it’s better to say “saving the earth,” because global warming can sound awful inviting to people who live in cold climates like Chicago’s.

Political will that starts with the removal of a Congress that doesn’t acknowledge the problem, the removal of a Bush that’s oblivious to the truth, let alone the end of the earth, or worse, with his corporate friends, he’s fanning the flames.

Curly Cohen
Chicago IL

Forget GM

Let’s see, we have General Motors using Congress to slow down the transition to hybrid cars, while at the same time forcing its employees into early retirement and seeking ways to weasel out of its pension commitments. GM, a car company founded in the United States and given tax breaks by the United States, now wants to thumb its nose at the citizens of the United States. Corporate greed and incompetence will finally cause the company to go bankrupt, just as they nearly did when Japan stomped it, back in the 1970s. Well, guess what, GM: I plan on buying a Toyota Camry in spite of your lobbyists’ efforts to shortchange the American people. Good riddance.

Joe Bialek
Cleveland OH

HR 676 — a vital bill

I am writing you to mention that the St. Louis SOAR (retired steelworkers) has also endorsed the Conyers health care bill, HR 676. As retired steelworkers, we can attest that companies have not honored health care commitments and they lied about benefits. We think the bill is a step in the right direction towards justice to the American people. It is barbaric to allow folks to go without proper medical treatment in the richest nation in the history of the planet. It is unthinkable that the government allows companies to short their workers in such an open and blatant fashion. We will do our best to help promote this vital bill.

Gary Roller
St. Louis MO

Voting Rights Act is crucial to all

We need the Voters Right Act because it is the very core where working people can exercise their right to vote. In the future, as we know, an election will determine whether our class will finally rid ourselves of the corporate capitalist class but we must have a means of reaching the working people. Re-passing the Voters Right Act is essential to this struggle and we need to let every progressive member of our society know how essential this is not only to the fall election but for all future elections. Removing the Voters Right Act would be a complete counterrevolution and a step backwards, shocking not only the nation but the working people and farmers, and a sign that the U.S. is becoming even more dangerous.

Keep up the excellent work. I have done “professional lobbying” for people with disabilities, the Right to Know Law and other legislation. I am currently studying at Empire State College in the field of labor and public policy. Whatever I can do please let me know. The only thing I lack, like most of us, is the money to do things.

Tom Siblo
Via e-mail

Teacher delegation to Cuba?

Re: Ed Guzman’s letter to editor (PWW 6/24-30).

I did find People to People International (www.ptpi.org) that sponsored a similar delegation of early childhood professionals a few years back.

Deb Wilmer
Tucson AZ

Here is what I think!

I do not know if your mindset is left-wing, it does seem to be from that ilk. The problem with people who come from that vogue of thinking is that they are contemptible of anyone who is not of that same stripe. If you are going to help the need for real news, try being a little more objective and less inflammatory of people with whom you do not agree with.

If you are only intending to reach shallow-minded, easily incited, noise-making, emotive people, then keep on doing it! They like it and enjoy it. But for people who have an appreciation for truth and fair-mindedness, we will not bother.

Medvis Jackson
Via e-mail

Editor’s note: Let us know which article(s) you thought were “inflammatory.” We avoid name calling of ordinary, working-class people of any political persuasion, which we do find inflammatory. One time our front page had a photo of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney with the headline: “Liar, liar.” Some may call that “inflammatory.” We would disagree. We were just telling it like it is.